


The White Rabbit Hole

by nickel_1321



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Volume 3 (RWBY), References to Depression, Ruby Rose (RWBY) Needs a Hug, Sleep Deprivation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-05
Updated: 2020-02-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:08:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22566826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nickel_1321/pseuds/nickel_1321
Summary: Ruby has arrived in Mistral but she's not the same happy go lucky leader she once used to be. She's matured, but her silver eyes have caused problems for her. Weiss and Yang arrive in Mistral and Weiss wants to help Ruby through her dark time. Qrow and Yang make a bet but of course, Qrow ends up losing.
Relationships: Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee
Kudos: 93





	The White Rabbit Hole

**Author's Note:**

> A quick side note that is needed for this story is that I made a side effect that her silver eyes cause her to hear the voices of the people she's seen die. Ruby also gets massive headaches after using her eyes. She also can't control the flashing of her eyes. Put all of this together and you get the mental state of our leader Ruby Rose.

Team RNJR has just settled down in the house in Mistral. Ren, Nora, Jaune, and Ruby all make their way upstairs to set down and unpack their things. Oscar and Qrow are downstairs trying to figure out where to go from here now that Lionheart has rejected Qrow’s plan. They all take a little time to calm down before Ren, Nora and Jaune all head back downstairs. Ruby needs a little more time to gather herself and gives everyone some time to breathe before they discuss where to go from here. Qrow goes out on the balcony to get some fresh air. No sooner did he get his hands rested on the balcony to look at the sunset does he hear something behind him, and sees Yang and Weiss on Yang’s motorcycle emerge from an all too familiar portal.

“Yo uncle Qrow.” Yang says nonchalantly as she parks her bike and the two get off leaving Qrow with a loss for words.

“Yang… Weiss… Heh, you guys never cease to amaze me.” Qrow rubs the back of his neck with a smile dusting his face. 

“Who else is here with you? Is Ruby here?” Yang asks hoping Ruby was with him so she could apologize. Wiess also really hoped to find her partner here.

“... Yeah. We just got back so she should probably be coming downstairs soon. Team RNJR and Oz- er a boy named Oscar and myself.” Qrow answers knowing now is not the time to tell them about Ozpin.

“Team RNJR?” Weiss and Yang ask simultaneously not knowing there was a team with that name back at Beacon.

“Oh, that's the new team name they came up with, Ruby, Nora, Jaune, and Ren.” Qrow answers not knowing that it stung the other two girls to know Ruby had formed on a different team name. 

“Oh…” That was all Weiss could muster. The two girls walked into the living room with Qrow behind them not having the heart to tell them that their happy go lucky leader had… changed in the past months. 

Nora, Ren, and Jaune were the first to spot them and they all got up and gave a warm welcome and exchanged “It’s been a while’s”. 

“So… where’s Ruby?” Yang asked still a little nervous to see her little sister after how she treated her.

Nora, Ren and Jaune look between one another before Nora answers “She’ll be down in a minute.” 

“I’ll go get her.” Ren offered and Nora nodded at him. Weiss had a twinge of jealousy inside her seeing Ren go get Ruby when she was  _ her _ partner, not his. She knew Ren and Nora probably had something more going on between them so she shouldn't be worried about Ren and Ruby. It still didn’t stop the jealousy from forming. Yang took notice of Weiss's fist forming and gave the girl a questioning look but Weiss just shook her head. Before Yang could ask something out loud to the other girl, Ren and Ruby came into view at the top of the stairs.

“Ruby…” Both Yang and Weiss breathed out in relief upon finally seeing their other teammate. They could tell the other girl was different though, she was more mature and she looked… tired, so tired.

“Weiss, Yang…” Ruby rushed down the stairs and hugged her sister and partner while Jaune, Nora, and Ren made their way to the kitchen to start dinner. Qrow sat down on the couch to rest and smiled at the reunited team. After the girl’s finished their hug, Yang starts apologizing for having been so rude to Ruby when she left as the other girl made apologies of her own. The two sisters hug and make up while Weiss is left to sit happily with the fact that she is with her friends again and it's not a dream. 

“Weiss, I’m glad you’re back. I was worried when my uncle told me you were taken back to your family.” Ruby says while she breaks her hug with her sister.

“I’m glad to be back. I missed you guys so much.” Weiss says with a smile she forgot she was capable of. Ruby gives her a small smile back but won’t meet her eyes which Weiss finds odd since the other girl usually had no problem with eye contact. 

“Is everything al-” Weiss is cut off by Jaune announcing dinner is ready and that they’ve pulled out all the stops.

Everyone sat down for dinner with Nora beside Ren who’s beside Ruby much to Weiss’s disgruntlement. On the other side of the table was Yang, Weiss, and Jaune. Dinner went well, everyone was happy to be back together while they shared their stories of what has happened the past half-year. Weiss talks about her time at her house and that one party… while Jaune, Nora, Ren and Ruby talk about all the places they had been to but they all had silently agreed to not tell the other two about their run-in with Tyrian. Yang could notice the shift in Ruby before Weiss for the simple fact that she was her sister and had known her longer. She didn’t say anything since everyone was having a good time but she wanted to talk with uncle Qrow about it after dinner.

Ren, Nora, Jaune, and Ruby offered to clean up but Ren told Ruby not to worry about it, and to go visit with her newly reunited team. Ruby gave Ren a small smile and thanked him. Weiss still didn’t like how close the two had gotten. The four of them sat in the living room and caught up on what Weiss and Yang learned from Raven. Qrow explained to the two about Oscar/Ozpin and answered the questions they may have had. After getting everything sorted out Qrow suggested they all head to bed for the night. They agreed and all six made their way upstairs. Ren, Nora, and Jaune were sharing one room while Ruby, Yang, and Weiss shared another. One member from each team would have to sleep on the floor due to there not being enough beds. Ren offered to take the floor first for his room. Ruby offered to take the floor tonight as a welcome gift to the other two which they were apprehensive about at first but ultimately they agreed. Yang, forgetting to talk with uncle Qrow, fell asleep almost immediately after being emotionally exhausted from her confrontation with her mother earlier. Weiss had a harder time falling asleep since by this point she also noticed something different within her partner. After half an hour though her body gave in to exhaustion as well.

Ruby however didn’t have the luxury of sleep as the others did. When she laid down to go to sleep, the voices were at their worst. Everything was quiet so it made sense but it didn’t make it any easier to deal with even knowing that they were going to be there. After a few hours, she couldn't take it anymore so she did what she’s been doing, going outside. Ruby quietly got up and walked out onto the balcony of the house. Although she was near-silent she woke Yang and Weiss who didn’t call out to her but waited so they could follow her. She also woke Ren, but since joining with her this has become more and more common so he also ended up getting up. The three of them ended up meeting in the living room looking at the balcony door that had been shut moments before. 

“This has become normal for her,” Ren stated after a moment of silence. He made his way to the kitchen to start some tea. Weiss and Yang followed, wanting to know more about what’s wrong with Ruby. 

“Do you know why?” Weiss asked after Ren was almost done with the tea. She noticed he only made two cups which she thought is odd since there were four of them.

“... No, I don’t. She refuses to talk about it with us. She says she doesn’t want it to affect the team.” Ren says after putting the tea onto a tray with the rest of the tea kettle. They walk into the living room and he hands the tray to Weiss.

“You’re her partner. Even though Yang’s her sister I believe if there’s anyone that can help her it’s you.” Ren says with a small smile to Weiss. Weiss is a bit shocked and feels a bit guilty over feeling jealous now, but is happy to know he thinks that nonetheless.

“... I actually agree with Ren. I don’t think she would tell me, but I think she would talk with you, Weiss. She trusts you a lot and at this point, I’d say you’re closer to her than I am.” Yang says with a hand on Weiss’s shoulder. Weiss is about to respond when they hear someone else talking out on the balcony. It was Qrow. They move over to the door to eavesdrop on the conversation.

“You really oughta get some sleep kiddo,” Qrow says with a hint of concern. Ruby is laying on her back, hands behind her head with her eyes closed. It’s very cold but the cold keeps her mind off the voices.

“Uncle Qrow… My head hurts so bad and the voices won’t stop… I just want it to stop.” She opens her eyes and Qrow jumps a little bit when he sees her eyes flashing between their normal silver and completely white. 

“Kiddo… I-” Qrow starts not really sure what to say.

“Don’t apologize. It’s not your fault, I just… It just hurts Uncle Qrow. I wish I knew how to control it.” Ruby says with desperation and despair in her voice.

“I know kiddo. Me too.” Qrow glances at the balcony door to find two eavesdroppers. Ren had already made his way back to his room during the eavesdropping, saying that he really wanted some sleep and good luck with Ruby. He smiles and looks back at Ruby.

“I’ll be back I’m gonna go grab something from inside.” 

“You know you don’t have to stay out here with me. I just don’t know how else to deal with the voices other than the cold.” Ruby confesses and has closed her eyes by this point to try and get to a more tranquil place.

Qrow walks into the house and shuts the balcony door before asking “What are you guys doing up? You should be in bed.” 

“Is she okay?” Weiss asked with concern in her voice. She knew something was up with her but had not expected to see her teammate’s eyes flashing and to be in some kind of pain.

“She…  _ Sigh.  _ Take a seat. I’ll tell you as much as I know.” Qrow says knowing this talk was inevitable.

“Ruby has silver eyes meaning she comes from a long line of people called the Silver Eyed Warriors. These warriors were said to have the ability to disintegrate a Grimm with a single glance. Ruby can do that too, but she’s still learning. With most things in life, there is a drawback to this amazing power. She hears the voices of the people she’s seen die…” Qrow stopped when he noticed the visible shock on both girl’s faces.

“S-she…” Weiss was dumbstruck. She didn’t even know how to respond to that and a quick glance at Yang told her she was having a similar experience. 

“Yea... I didn’t know that information until lately when Ruby told me herself. There’s… another side effect to her power. She will get major headaches from using her eyes too much or in this case… not being able to control the flashing. That’s all I know. I wish I could tell you more but she’s barely opened up to me about it.” Qrow finished and felt bad for the two. They were visibly concerned over their leader and shocked at the news at the same time.

“Can I go talk to her?” Qrow was shocked at first when the girl looked so determined, but a smile fell upon his lips afterward.

“I think if anyone can talk to her it’s you.” Qrow answers truthfully. Qrow knows Ruby missed Yang a lot but she always looked worse when Weiss was brought up. Whenever the girl was brought up in conversations prior Ruby would get quiet and try to change the subject, but Qrow always could see the loss and pain in her eyes. Yang nods at her and Weiss picks up the tea tray to make her way over to the balcony door. 

She steps through the threshold and closes the door behind her. Weiss looks over at Ruby to find her lying on her back with one arm behind her head and the other draped over her eyes.

“Uncle Qrow I told you already that you didn't have to come back out here,” Ruby says without removing her arm over her eyes.

“Hey.” Upon hearing the voice Ruby sat straight up and looked behind her to find Weiss with a tea tray, not Qrow. 

“Weiss… What’re you doing out here? You should be getting some rest.” Ruby says as she turns back around to face the view off the balcony. Weiss thought it better to avoid telling her that Yang was up too and that Qrow had told them everything.

“I noticed you were gone when I woke up. I thought I’d bring you some tea.” Weiss says with a small smile even though Ruby wasn’t looking at her. “Can I sit?”

“Yea…” Ruby says in a voice that seemed almost far away. Weiss sat down and gave a cup to Ruby. “Thank you.”

“Don’t worry about it… So what’s up?” Weiss didn’t know how to approach this new Ruby quite yet so she was going to play it by ear.

“I… I just couldn’t sleep.” Ruby knows deep down she really wants to tell Weiss everything, but she just doesn’t want the other girl to be burdened with it. It's not Weiss’s problem so why make it hers? She was granted this power and curse so she was the one to have to deal with it. 

“... You know you can talk to me right? I know I haven’t always been the most open-minded and caring person, but you guys changed me at Beacon and I...” Weiss trailed off and did not want to look too aggressive. Ruby knew Weiss had changed so much and she knew that she could always talk to her. That's why this hurt. She wanted to tell Weiss, she really did. About a lot of things but she knew it would only hurt the other girl. 

“... I know Weiss, I know. I’m alright I promise.” Ruby was never good at lies but life teaches you things you may or may not have ever intended to learn. Had it been someone else the lie may have fooled them, but not Weiss. Especially after what Qrow told her, how could she be alright?

“ _ Sigh.  _ **Ruby.** Look at me.” Weiss wanted two things out of that. One she wanted to see how bad the pain was in the other girl’s eyes and two she would be able to see if she was lying or not. Ruby was reluctant at first and didn’t want to, but even with her new more bold self, she knew not to refuse Weiss. Ruby looked at Weiss with the tears that weren’t there but they could both feel were ready to spill over.

“Weiss… I-” Ruby didn’t even get out what she wanted to say before Weiss enveloped her in a hug. Weiss held on to Ruby like her life depended on it as if the other girl would slip away from her forever if she didn’t. In a way that's not too far from the truth, it just wasn’t physically but mentally. Weiss let her tears fall because she knew Ruby couldn't see them. She hurt with the girl that she wanted to help so much. 

“Weiss… I-” Ruby tries again but this time her sobs cut her off. Weiss feels the girl rack with a sob and tightens her hold on the girl. “Weiss, I’m sorry. I don’t know what to do. My head feels like it wants to explode. They won’t shut up, Pyrra, the soldier, all those people from a few towns back… I-I just want them gone Weiss. I come out here because the pain of the cold keeps my mind off the voices. I had a dream where my mother told me that it can be controlled by emotions but my emotions have been hurting me not helping. My eyes won’t stop flashing… heh, I must really look like a freak to you huh?” Ruby’s voice cracked. Weiss shook her head furiously.

“No… no, nothing you do or are or whatever the case may be would ever make me think that.” Weiss was glad to have the girl open up but she didn’t know that the other girl hurt quite this bad. Weiss hurt with everything Ruby says. 

“I haven’t slept in almost a month. I must look like it too. I’m sorry that I didn’t welcome you back more than I should have. I know I should have, I just… I’m just not right Weiss and I don’t know how to fix it.” Another round of sobs erupts from the younger girl. Weiss is so glad that she is able to have the other girl open up. She’s ecstatic that her partner trusts her over everyone else to open up to and talk about the darkest parts of her. 

“No don’t apologize, there’s nothing to apologize for. There is nothing wrong with you, you just need to find a way to cope. If that means you have to tell me about them so that you can sleep then I would be more than happy to help you.” Weiss hoped she didn’t come off too strong but she really wanted the other girl to know she was there for her.

“No please, I don’t want to bring you down with me. Please don’t say that Weiss I couldn’t handle putting you in more pain. I don’t want to burd-”

“ **Stop.** Please just stop.” Weiss had sobs of her own now much to Ruby’s confusion.

“Ruby watching you in this much pain and me not helping would hurt me so much more than you could ever imagine. I want nothing more than to be here for you Ruby. I realized that when I was taken back to Atlas that you…” Wiess could feel her cheeks start to heat up even in the cold. She hadn’t planned on taking the conversation down this turn but things rarely go as planned.

“That I what?” Ruby pulled back ever so slightly but it was Weiss’s turn to avoid eye contact.

“That… that you…” ‘Come on Weiss just spit it out’ She takes a deep breath before continuing. “That you mean everything to me Ruby. I never put much thought into old proverbs until I got back to Atlas and the one that goes ‘You never know what you have until it’s gone’ hit me so much harder than I thought it ever could. I-” Weiss paused when she looked up to see Ruby’s eyes flashing less and less with everything she said. They were going back to normal. Why? She had no idea but it was helping so she continued. Weiss looked away again as she said this last part though, she couldn’t bear to see the look on her partner’s face especially if it was bad.

“... Ruby, I’m in love with you. I didn’t realize it until I went back to Atlas but all those long months gave me time to think about it and realize my feelings… I-I understand if you don-” Weiss was caught off guard by her lips being captured by Ruby’s. She widened her eyes in shock at first but as fast as they widened they closed, and she fell into the kiss. If she had spiraled down a dark rabbit hole when locked in her room back at Atlas this was the light one. Her body felt light and she loved the way Ruby’s hand felt against her cheek. After another moment they separated and they both were blushing furiously. When Ruby opened her eyes however, they were no longer flashing.

“Weiss… My eyes! They’ve stopped flashing and… and the voices, I don’t hear them! Weiss…” Ruby looks up at the blushing Ice Queen who had the biggest smile she’d ever seen on her face. 

“Heh, I’m glad I coul-” Weiss fell backward as the girl hugged her and thanked her over and over for helping her. After they both laughed they sat back up.

“Weiss Schnee…” Ruby bit her lip and looked away to which Weiss was a little worried that maybe she had gone too far this time, but before she could wallow in self-doubt…

“I love you too. I had the same realization when you were gone. For the first week, I didn’t even know how to function properly.” Ruby laughs nervously and rubs the back of her neck sheepishly. Weiss could only smile at the dolt that sat in front of her.

“But as time went on I came to terms with my feelings too, although I would never have been as bold as you were with them,” Ruby said raising an eyebrow as she laughed to which Weiss could only blush.

“Why’s that?” Weiss said after a moment. She was genuinely curious as to why the girl would never have confessed to her.

“Why? You’re a princess Weiss! You were always chasing Neptune around back at Beacon and quite frankly you’re out of my le-” This time it was Ruby’s turn to be shocked at the feeling of lips on her own. She melted into them nonetheless.

“Heh, you worry too much,” Weiss says with a smirk as they separate but only for a moment.

Yang and Qrow looking at them through the door turn around and high five each other. “Hell yeah, nailed it,” Yang says as she laughs. “Now pay up uncle Qrow,” Yang says with hubris in her voice.

“Huh, damn I guess you’re right. I always thought Ruby would confess first, ah well.” Qrow hands Yang her money and the two decide to go back to bed to give the lovebirds some time to themselves.


End file.
